Episode 27: Deception, Part III

Today we continue our reflection on the Destructive Hidden Influence. How does a peacemaker know this factor is in play? Evidence is found in the irrational or illogical fears expressed by parties. Evidence is found in the distrust that lingers when it should have dissipated. Evidence lies in the damaged relationship that is unusually difficult to heal. Fear, distrust, and hostility are signs of a Destructive Hidden Influence. Another sure sign is reconciliation impasse, those times when negotiation stalls.

Episode Transcript

Deception - Part III

This is Episode 27. Today we will continue our reflection on the Destructive Hidden Influence. How does a peacemaker know this factor is in play?

Evidence is usually found in the irrational or illogical fears expressed by the parties. Evidence is found in the distrust that lingers when it should have dissipated. Evidence lies in the damaged relationship that is unusually difficult to heal.

Fear, distrust, and hostility are signs of a Destructive Hidden Influence. Another sure sign is reconciliation impasse, those times when negotiation stalls.

Peacemakers must remain alert to the signs so they can shift course when appropriate. For example, if a peacemaker works with two parties, Party A and Party B, and the conflict does not resolve in spite of his best efforts, he must ask himself, “Who is the hidden third party? Who is the gossip, the detractor, the covert agent, or the character assassin that has a stake in driving the parties apart? Who benefits from this fight?”

This begins a period of detective work. The peacemaker becomes a sleuth, seeking to expose the destructive influence. There are many places to begin to look, many shadows to be explored.

Many chronic destructive hidden influences are the equivalent of people we call sociopaths. They carry out their misdeeds in secret. They undermine friendships, marriages, groups, businesses, communities, or even nations.

They do not possess the power or ability to overcome adversaries in a direct confrontation. Rather, they must gain the upper hand through duplicity and subterfuge. They become relationship assassins.

Atheists fall into this category. They suffer from existential fear that drives them into opposition against God. Unable to enter directly into battle with God, like the Serpent they seek to control their fellow man and damage their relationships with God. They use twisted logic that causes confusion and misdirection. In the social arena they operate programs that covertly and gradually strip faith from the public square.

It is worth repeating the last point. Atheists and sociopaths, two groups of chronic destructive hidden influences, tend to manage programs that drive men of faith out of the public square. Their agenda is fear-based and they usually rely heavily on claims of victimhood.

These chronic destructive influences are merchants of fear and peddlers of distrust. Their destructive agenda is glossed over with a thin veneer of altruism. Their real intentions are cloaked and hidden.

Sociopaths, suffering chronically from fear, distrust, and paranoia, promote conflict wherever they go. Because they live in fear of all other people, they must maintain sufficient power to protect against all enemies. They must constantly employ covert means to weaken and undermine others. They must destroy friendships and relationships.

There’s a reason that Destructive Hidden Influences — such as psychopaths and sociopaths — are so difficult to recognize. Most people cannot imagine someone who suffers from fear so extreme and so irrational. Such pervasive fear is so illogical that it goes unnoticed.

We all experience bouts of insecurity that cause us to act out of fear. But such insecurity does not compare with the paranoid mindset of the pathological Destructive Hidden Influence.

Fortunately, the number of people afflicted with such all-consuming fear is small. Unfortunately, the destruction they cause can be significant.

In spite of having the example of the Serpent, people of faith tend to overlook deception and misdirection. They work off the naïve assumption that people who clash with the principles of faith merely suffer from the confusions of the modern age. After all, things have become complex.

Thus, the “altruistic” leaders, who covertly undermine faith while presiding over a culture of death, are given a pass. They proceed without censure. They are not recognized as Destructive Hidden Influences. Their antipathy toward God is normalized.

This all changes when peacemakers repair and reconcile relationships. They come face to face with the damage caused by Destructive Hidden Influences. They can no longer overlook the fact that relationships have been targeted for destruction.

The presence of the offspring of the Serpent, those deceivers who sabotage the fallen world, precludes the advent of a culture of love based on divine relationship. Thus, peacemakers who intend to hasten the arrival of world peace must become savvy in their handling of the Destructive Hidden Influence. They must become skilled at noting their presence and skilled at identifying the covert agents.